Devotions and Scriptures of 2017

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New Life in Christ

Gen. 1:27  "So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God has made it clear that there is santity in human life. Every life has value. 
Gen. 2:7 "The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breathe of life, and the man became a living being. 
We a re made in the image of God.   This is the first life that God has given us.  
He has also given us a second life. The free gift of Salvation. A chance for eternal life. 
God loves us, each and everyone of us.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life. "
We have all Sinned...
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
But God has found a way for us to join him in eternity someday.  He wants us all to walk on the streets of God, and no have more trials and temptations.  To be in his presence..
Romans 6:23 " For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 1:12 " But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even  to those who believe in His name."
I Cor. 15:3-4 "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scripture."
God wants us to come to know him. He wants us to accept his free gift of Salvation, and believe that he is the Lord of Lord, and king of kings.  And he came into this world of corruptions and trials so we may have life.  He loved us so much. That he found us a way  to eternal life.  
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he in Me. 
We all may be savaed now!
Romans 10:13 " For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
If you haven't given your life to the Lord, it is time to make this choice. Pray: Dear Jesus I know that I am a sinner, I believe that Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins on the cross and was raised for my justification. I do now receive  and confess Him as my personal Savior.  Now your new life in Christ begins.
That doesn't mean there wont be trials, and temptations, because we are in a sinful world and there will be. But now you have the assurance you have our Lord and Savior to guide you and help you in your walk with him. He will give you strength to handle each  trial that come along.  He will comfort you. He loves you. He is your heavenly father. 
God tells us in I Thes. 5:17 " Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
This is your new life, your new beginning .. Like a new baby just out of the mothers womb.. You have a new goal. A goal to be strong in your walk with God. And give up all the worldly addictions. Phil. 3:13-14" Brothers, I don not consider myself yet to have take hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me  heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Are you ready to make a change. I change that God promises to help us with? 




Trials in New Light

I have a bible App that Scripture pops up everyday for me to read and consider how they play into my day.

Today the scripture read "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2"
God doesn't put things into our lives only to make us miserable. He puts trials into our lives because he wants to refine us. He wants to make us better.   He wants to light the  fire under us to have more of a passion for the Lord.  When all is well in our lives we become very complacence, we aren't always giving our whole lives over the the Lord. We just bob around in life with the quietness of the water. But with trials God can place new challenges in our lives, new excitement, new fresh love for the Lord.  New dimensions beyond what we could ever imagine. Maybe if it is just be able to help others that is a big part. New insights to what others are going through.  Give us words to say when only words are needed.  Give us compassion for others that we would have never understood before. God lights our fire.  So when a trial comes into your life, grab ahold of it and give it to God. Let him work in your life and give you more hope, joy, and love for others.  Be discouraged! God is always with you through it all.

By Colleen Rogness


Turning Away From Old Thoughts


If you find yourself without hope and discouragement. Try replacing your old thoughts with empowering new thoughts.  Apply into our lives biblical thoughts that will renew your spirit.

1. I was made for more then to be stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat.
"Deut. 2:3  You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn North."

2.  When I am considering a compromise , I will think past this moment and ask myself, how will I feel about this choice tomorrow morning. " I Cor. 6:19-20  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you. Whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were brought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

3.  When tempted, I will either remove the temptation or remove myself from the situation.  " I Cor. 10:13b-14a  God is faithful: he will not let you be tempted beyond wen you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear Friends, flee.

4. I don't have to worry about letting God down because I was never holding him up; God's grace is sufficient. "
2 Cor. 12:9-10

5. I have boundaries in place not for restriction but rather to define the parameters of my freedom.
" Romans 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing  wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. "

Let these statements bump into your new reality and redefine your old pattern of thoughts. And when we change the way we think, we'll be better equipped to change the way we make choices. 

Total Trust

There are  times in our life where what God tells us to do doesn't make sense.  He puts directions in our lives that we say "What Lord? Why do you want me to do that? It doesn't make sense. I think back on a time in my life that God was leading my husband and I to go to Cambodia on a short term mission trip. We would be going half way around the world.  We had 4 small children at home. We aren't in the ministry, just ordinary people. My husband farms and has a truck business and I am a nurse and a mother.  Why would he ask us to do this? But no matter what we prayed God would tell us "I want you to go and minister to Cambodia. There are millions of people there that need to know the Lord. They need the opportunity to hear about God's saving Grace. And that Jesus loves us, all of us in every nation." 

We finally decided we needed to be in God's will, trust him and go where he wanted us to go. He wanted us to say we will go just because you want us to go.  We did go for 11 trips to Cambodia. What a blessing this was in our lives.  We made many, many new friends, and many people in Cambodia heard about the Lord. God took care of of children at home.He  showed us that we were the ones being blessed by the Cambodian people. What a awesome job God called us, normal people to do. It humbles me to know that even if it didn't make sense God was in control and had a plan. A plan to use us.  

Open up your heart today. Let God show you what he wants you to do.  Follow his plan.  And then wait for the blessings to flow upon you. 

"Prov. 3:5-6...Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him."

Remember that God deserves our total trust and complete submission, even when it doesn't make sense.

By Colleen Rogness

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Praise Him ! Praise Him!

Many of us wonder sometimes in our life, what is there to praise God for?  We go along in life with one struggle after another. And sometimes it seems like God isn't even there. He is silent in our lives.  He is like our breathe in a cold winter day. Just a whisper of him..  Being a Christian doesn't protect us from struggles in our lives. He never promised us a Rose garden.  But what he does promise us to always be there with us through the tough times.  Psalm 107 describes many of the troubles we face today. We read phrases like "wandered in wastelands, " "hungry", thirsty,"  "lives that ebbedaway," "trouble,", "distress," and "darkness." The psalmist also reminds us that despite the circumstances we still have reason to praise God. This psalm also includes words, such as "redeemed, enduring love, wonderful deeds, satisfies the thirsty, delivered from their troubles." Words that remind us of God's faithfulness. It is God's faithfulness, then, that inspires our praise.  

We can choose to be discouraged, and not trust God. Be negative in all we say or do. Or, 

We can choose to praise and thank God. Beginning our prays with Praise and Thanksgiving produces an atmosphere of positive thinking. 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer! 

By Colleen Rogness

Birthday Wishes

I would like to wish our son Jon Rogness, co-founder of PPR a very

Happy Birthday!

Feb. 14, 1988

28 years ago the Lord placed you in our arms to raise up for him.  You are our very cherished valentine.  We always have  followed through with our promise to the Lord. 

 And we are very thankful God has gave you to us as our son. 

We are extremely proud of you.  We visit you and see in your eyes and your actions, a whole lot of love for God. You want to show others how to get through troubles without turning to the things of the world.  You have changed your life around, and doing a ministry for the Lord.  God is pruning you daily to make you what he wants you to be.  God is faithful and true.                                                   We know that God has a bigger plan for you.

Keep trusting in Him! 

"You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work."

James 1:3

Colleen and Phil

Sept. 16, 2015

You will be missed Maggie

We got some bad news this past week. We lost a very special member of the PPR family. Maggie Andrews past away early Friday morning. Many of you know her as Jimbo's mama.  She had become family to us all.  She was as tough as nails and fought hard to stay alive for many years. She never gave up no matter how bad it got. She absolut4ely loved coming to see Jimbo every chance she got. I will always remember her big smile, her sense of humor, and that she always had a hug for everyone she knew. She always wanted to make everyone smile. Her "never give up no matter what" attitude was an inspiration to so many people. None of us will ever forget her. We are sad that you are gone, but it makes us happy to know that you are no longer in pain. We will celebrate your life and you will always be a part of PPR. We love you Maggie. You will be missed.

Jon Rogness
Co-Founder of PPR

We are saddened by the loss of Maggie Andrews.  The mother of Jimbo Andrews one of the co-founders of PPR. She will be missed.. Our prayers go out to the family.

Margaret "Maggie" Irene (Bruggeman) Andrews, 66 of Sioux Falls, SD, died peacefully on Saturday, September 5^th, 2015 at the Dougherty House. She was born May 2, 1949 in Sioux Falls, SD, the daughter of Cletus and Patricia (Wilka) Bruggeman. She graduated from O'Gorman High School in 1967, later on attended Killian Community College to work on a Human Service degree. She worked as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor at Detox, Second Street Manor, and Counseling Resources. She also worked for Face It as the Director of First Impressions until her retirement due to failing health.

In 1968 Margaret married Terry Cady and they had two children Anthony and Angela Cady. In 1974 she married Jim Andrews and had one son James Andrews. 

Margaret was small in stature but had a big heart. She had an absolute love for flowers, music, and dance. She even went to a Bob Seger concert recently. Keeping up with the latest dance styles was her passion too. 

Survivors include her children: Anthony (Lisa) Cady, of Watertown, Angela (Cady) Blosmo, of Garretson, and James Andrews of Sioux Falls; step-daughter: Nichole Andrews, of Sparks, Nevada; brothers: Joseph of Sioux Falls, Mike (Cathy) of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Matt of Larchwood, Iowa; five grandchildren; and special friend: Gale Richardson, of Murdo, SD. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Patrick.

Visitation will be Saturday, 1 PM at Barnett-Lewis Funeral Home with a Memorial Service at 2 PM.

To the Youth of the Nation

I am nobody special, just a concerned person.

I read the newspaper and watch the daily news. And it troubles me to see today's youth turn to drugs and violence to solve or try to solve their problems.

I'd like to tell you a story. Its a true story with no embellishments needed. It's a story I've told countless times to a number of at risk troubled youths in order to try to get them to turn their lives around. It's the story of my own youth. I say my own youth because as I write this I am now 41 years old. Some of you might think what does this old guy think he know  about today's youth?  It is true there is allot about this day and age that I do not now but as I mentioned earlier, I too thought when I was young that I could solve my problems with drugs and violence.

As a teenager I was like allot of other teens, didn't think I fit in with the ?In? crowd, so I turned to alcohol. A few beers here and there then before to long I turned to the harder stuff, mainly whiskey. Soon after that it was party time every weekend. Of course that also progressed in whenever I had money I'd drink.  That because my life for a few years. I didn't have any ambitions, no future. I blinded myself and couldn't see anything beyond what was directly in front of me. In those few years allot of b ad things happened. I'd fight, Id get beat up, I even got robbed while in a drunken stupor. After a while I'd drink just to drink. I wasn't even having fun anymore. Realizing this I should have stopped but like any addict I turned to drugs to try to block out the world I created.  With drugs and alcohol in my system most of the time. I had become someone I never knew. I was a mean violent uncontrollable person with little regard for anyone around me.  This path that I had chosen, the drugs, alcohol and violence would all come to a head on a cold October night in 1993.

In a drunken drug induced rampage I did the unforgivable. I would take a young mans life.  At first I didn't even remember doing such an act. As the days passed, as I Sobered up sitting in a jail cell, like still frames of a movie I started to piece together that nights events. It was terrible, and terrifying what I had done.

After months of sitting in jail. It was now time to stand before a judge and har my fate. He had decided that since I took a life then mine shall be taken as well. In a blink of a eye, what life I had and what life I couldn've had was gone. I was 19 years old. I was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. That was 21 years ago. So here I've  sat, no future, no present only a past that will haunt me for the rest of my days. At first I thought it was all just a really bad dream and I'd wake up and everything would be alright. Little did I know my nightmare was just about to begin.


Life here in prison is terrible. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. If anyone says different then they have either never been here or is lying. Trust me there is nothing, I mean nothing cool about being in prison. For those who read this especially todays youth. I implore you don't turn to drugs or alcohol they only weaken you.  Violence only breed more violence. Use the people and the resources around you to find a better non violent way to address your problems. Never be afraid to ask for help. Its not a sign of weakness. Its a sign of maturity to want to find a better way.

I've shared my story with you, not so you would feel sorry for me or to glorify my actions. I share my story and experiences a a warning beacon to the youth of today.

Trust me when I say every second of every day I am sorry and ashamed and deeply regret my actions on that October night.  I have not only brought shame on myself but my family as well.  Don't live with that regret. Don't follow my footsteps. For those of you that have taken steps do3wn this road. It's not to late for you to turn your life around. You can do it, you have that power within you.

Before I sign off I want to say one more thing.  I know even now after all I have shared, there are some who are saying to themselves "that won't ever happen to me." I said those exact words myself when I was young. Take heed spending the rest of your life in prison is just one possible stop on this road.

Thank you for your time. My prayers are with you.
Mark Milk #17409


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Choose Wisely What You Have Pride In!

I am thirty-one years old, married with five children. Sadly I've been doing time since I was seventeen years old.

I did everything the "convict way". I took pride in that and I was going to the hold all the time to save face and to be selfish. I've got ten years here on the Hill so far and the sad thing is that I could have been out in two and a half if I wasn't so prideful. I have kid's pictures up on my board and I get into a fight a month before my parole? What sense did that make? Is pride more important than my wife and kids? For thirteen years the answer for me was yes. It sucks for me to even have to admit that but it's the truth.

That all changed for me in April of 2013. I was doing ninety days in the SHU for supposedly smuggling drugs into the prison during visits. While doing my SHU time I got bored and started reading the Bible. After reading for a few days I asked Jesus to come into my life and save me from my sins. It has been a 180 degree change in my life since then.

I still struggle with pride and judging other people by their crimes like sex offenses and whether they are known rat and how they do their time because I am still a convict. But on the other hand I've realized what is really more important to me is growing up and holding myself responsible for my choices and putting my family and religion before my pride.

People in here think it's a badge of honor to have done a bunch of time filled with pride and reputation. But what I've learned in the past fourteen years is we are being self-centered, prideful losers who have proven to ourselves and our families that our pride is more important than our family.

I just wish that fourteen years ago someone would have told me how to be a  real man who put the interest of my family and my wife and kids before my own. I'm just glad that through my faith in Jesus Christ I am able to change and become a real man who thinks about others and puts his wife and his kids first. Now I can take pride in the fact that my word means something to me and my family and that I'm putting somebody else before myself.

I have faith that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I hope that by reading my testimony it might help somebody  before they waste years of their lives ruled by pride and anger. God blessed me in changing my heart and mind....He can change yours too.

Written By: Josh Sullenger

Just A Little Something To Think About!




I have a buddy here I talk to quite often. He is a good guy and he is usually a fairly cheerful person. But when he starts talking about his case and his prison sentence, he becomes the victim that feels he shouldn't be here and that he got way to much time. And if he were somebody else this never would have happened and on and on.


So, we started talking about what he did when he was on the outside. Then we got on the subject of all the things we both had gotten away with and the danger around those situations. It makes you really think about how both of us were on our way to prison long before we were arrested.


 It brings me back to the snowball effect. Those little decisions that don't seem lie that big of deal at the time always lead to bigger things and soon those things don't seem so bad either. Once we start on any kind of a criminal mindset, we are constantly desensitizing ourselves until nothing matters or scare us anymore. Remember that the next time you are in a situation and you tell yourself, "Its not that big of deal, nobody will even know." That's only the beginning. It never starts out big. Maybe someone cheats their work hours today and ends up facing Tax Fraud charges a few year later from now.
Just something to put some thought into when you tell yourself, "Its not that big of deal, nobody will ever know."


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A Quick Thank You!

Thanks Ma

Thanks Ky

I wanted to write a quick thank you to our outside support of P.P.R. They are so much more than support, they are the only reasons why we are able to do this at all. First my Mom, Colleen Rogness. She has always supported me and is constantly reminding me to help others and to give everything up to God. Of course I like to refer to that as nagging. I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you have always done for me. Without you there would be no P.P.R.

You are the backbone of us. Second I would like to thank my best friend Kylie Hakinson. She thinks that she  doesn't do near enough and that nobody notices her work. So let her know that you see it. Kylie, I have gotten to know you better than anyone and you definitely know me better than anybody else does. I think you know me better then I know myself. And your never afraid to call me on m crap. You are so special to me and you truly are an amazing person. You can't even understand how much you help me everyday. So, to mama and to Kylie I love you both, and I pray that people see how much both of you do, when so many people think you shouldn't. Bot of you are way more than I deserve to have around me. Thank you so much for being there for me everyday. Love you both. Anybody who reads this they should compliment mom and Kylie, they are the ones who do all the work to make sure people see it. So tell them they are doing a good job.

Thanks again.

Jon Rogness

C0-founder- P.P.R.